"Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

1
I got 12 too, but in some cases by luck. For example:
1) I don't know what part of Earth is hottest. I figure the energy loss is only by radiation, so the core would be the hottest. However, this simplistic thinking is not necessarily valid at planetary scale where heat can be generated by tidal friction in the crust. 2) I don't know who invented the Polio vaccine. The other choices probably did not invent a vaccine, hence success. 3) Both radio and sound waves are used in the functioning of a cellphone. So the respondent must guess what Pew meant.

4
I was expecting to do poorly, as I was never a good science student. I got 11; couldn't remember anything about water boiling temperatures, and finally convinced myself it was an urban legend that everyone thinks is true.

7
Changes in the temperatures and pressures of phase transitions make for an interesting topic. Remember that in most cases a tripple point has to exist, therefore some lines at P/T diagrams must be slanted and/or bent more than others.

In case of water though, this whole thing has a noticeable practical effect: the pressure cooker. After pressure cookers became widely established as a technology, some of the people living in the mountains quickly figured out that a pressure cooker may be used not only raise the boiling point above normal, but also to raise it from Denver to Los Angeles point if you live in Denver. This lets one cook food normally and save a measurable amount of fuel.

IIRC at one point the government of Nepal or Bhutan tried to ban pressure cookers because of bomb hazard and almost caused an mass unrest. Nobody wants to go back to paying 2 times more for propane.

9
I object to the optics question. Depending on the index of refraction, relative to the index of the medium, either convergence *or* divergence is possible for a plano-convex lens. Also, there are reflected rays. :-P

6
That it headspaces .45 ACP is a neat trick. You mention that it cant use moon clips, does it chamber .45 Auto Rim? (I'd expect not but I was wondering). Have you looked at getting the sights adjusted to compensate for the off target shooting or is it something you can compensate for?

7
The rim of 45 Auto Rim is too thick. It's the same story on the new Ruger Redhawk .45 ACP / .45 LC, which does use a moon clip, but not a thick enough one to accomodate 45 Auto Rim. I think Auto Rim only goes into 1917s and maybe Smith&Wesson Model 22.